Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Market-farming Digest, Vol 46, Issue 1

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Brigette Leach <avalonfarmshomegrown AT earthlink.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Market-farming Digest, Vol 46, Issue 1
  • Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2006 09:59:17 -0500

One of the points that is being overlooked in most of these discussions is the "science" of disease outbreaks. NAIS is more than just food safety. The outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in Michigan, caused by free ranging white tail deer having contact with pastured dairy cows and their food sources, has cost producers of all bovine considerably, as well as tax payers who have footed the bill for locating infected animals, testing, and indemnification to producers who herds have been depopulated. Regardless of herd size or management practices, disease can be contracted. If you haven't dealt with a disease outbreak, and particularly one caused by something outside of your control, I don't think one can fully appreciate the impact. Even though beef animals in southern Michigan had never had any contact with the TB positive dairy operations in NW Michigan, producers found their markets over the state line had suddenly disappeared. Same thing for producers in the upper peninsula with markets in Wisconsin. I'm not talking about evil CAFO's, I'm talking about family farms who market anything from a few head to a few hundred. And disease doesn't always confine itself to one species. The TB issue in our state has dire implications for wildlife as well. And while bovine TB isn't easily transmitted to humans, it is most likely to be contracted when a hunter handles a contaminated deer, becoming exposed via of lungs and blood.

How would you feel if someone in the northern part of your state had an outbreak of some disease, but you knew your animals were clean, still until USDA or your department of ag can get a handle on the area impacted, a moratorium is placed on all sales. Now you spend weeks/months continuing to feed an animal who is ready to market? This scenario has a cost, too.

As to being able to test every bovine for mad cow for a few cents, totally untrue. There is only one testing facility, in Iowa, and the process costs far more than a few cents.

If everyone takes a step back from the emotion regarding safe food, evil CAFO's and industrial agriculture, and deals with the science of diseases and food safety, you might have a chance to make headway with the paper pushers in DC. Facts have credibility. I have enough experience working with state and federal electeds to know that you need to focus on how the NAIS impacts you without all the accusations and rantings about the "big guys".

There are literally thousands of ways for foods of many types to become contaminated...at farms big and small, during processing, at the supermarket and in the home. These blanket statements about contamination always being the fault of big operations simply isn't true. It is most likely to be what garners media attention, however. If you don't believe my claim, contact your state department of agriculture for the reported and investigated cases. The information is subject to FOIA, so don't think you can't get it.

Hook Family wrote:

I agree with the below statement. This is what gets glossed over in all the pro Nais propaganda "protection", making the food "safe". How safe did those few hundreds or thousand spinach eaters feel. With trace BACK people often many people have to get sick first. And from what I've read on other sites by an underfunded and corporate run organization. Just the fact that ID chip makers are on the "committee" for this program makes me think the reasons for the program are not especially altruistic.

Just this summer there was an online Yahoo article about how they are testing fewer animals for MadCow at processing plants, oh but the powers that be so care about the publics health, yeh right.

I have also read that every cow leaving a processing plant can be tested for Mad Cow for a few cents each a much better use of the consumers money in my opinion (they pay to get sick with NAIS).

I think more effort should be made to send uncontaminated food into the food chain in the first place, most small farms already do the big guys just want easy fixes, pasteurization, radiation, Id chips. If "they" really want safe food this program isn't it. Beth


From another post:
Aside from that, I don't think the NAIS will work. Most contaminated meat
isn't caught until (like the recent spinach problem) it's mixed with tons
of other meat and on the supermarket shelves. Instead of one cow's-worth
of contaminated meat, we've got tons. Feedlots where e. coli breeds and
the huge operations that mix tons of ground meat together are the problem.
Once the animal is cut up and comingled with other meat, tracking does no
good.
_______________________________________________
Market-farming mailing list
Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming







Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page